Hi I am having surgery in January for pelvic organ prolapse. More for quality of life and bladder issues. Us women out there know what I am talking about very uncomfortable.
The surgeon seems very aware of afib issues at my consult which is good, but I am wondering what other people here did with medications and just dealing with your afib/flutter at the time of surgery. I have an appointment with my EP a few weeks before so will be discussing it also with him.
Any advice or tips would be great .My greatest concern is the anxiety before the surgery causing problems with afib.
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Kather
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Hi Kather, I had exactly the same issue re surgery in February this year. I was having a gall bladder operation under a general aneasthetic. I made my concern re af and Svt known to my surgeon as I too was concerned about my heart playing up under the stress of surgery and the associated anxiety and trauma.
My EP is at a London hospital and I was to have surgery at my local teaching hospital. My GI surgeon and anaesthetist lead wrote to my EP requesting details of my arrhythmias and he was quick to respond that I was in good cardiac shape other than paraoxysmal arrhythmia and was heart fit for surgery.
I also had the usual pre op check at my local hospital and anaesthetist reassured me that he dealt with arrhythmias in surgery ongoing, as my EP had intimated saying its a daily occurrence for us don't worry.
On the day of the op I met with the aneathstetist again and he again reassured me that he could deal with any eventuality. My op went without incidence and I recall waking slowly hearing the aneathstetist telling the people in recovery about my arrhythmias and that I had been fine during surgery and was currently experiencing some atrial tachycardia due to the stress of the op. I honestly had no issues heart wise and by the time I was fully awake again my heart was back to normal speed.
I had to stop my anticoagulant in the week before surgery and my usual anticoagulant was re commenced a day after surgery.
Like you I was concerned about the effects of the op on my arrhythmias and stopping anticoagulation but all was well. I am likely to be facing another surgery again, a more complex procedure and I feel reassured cardiac wise now. Hope all goes well for you.
Hi I had the same surgery in 2016- which wsd done laparoscopy with three incisions. There is as a zinger of pain in the one area therefore needing pain control- which I never do well with- they kept giving it to me and I nightmarish dreams and went into AF / this was at the time I was doing Flecanide as PIP with metoprolol. I knew I was in AF but overnight nurse was as not convinced- was kinda tense will I was puupset- anyhow I had all the Drs coming and got hooked up on telemetry-
I had the surgery done at same hospital where Heart Hospital They wanted to do a pacemaker because my heart rate was 46 when I took the 300mg of Flecanide and metoprolol. and I said no - I can’t with this other surgery.
Went home saw my regular EP and he said no pacemaker needed -
one year later I went back for another bladder issue (vaginal lift- that’s another story) but had no AF problem - two weeks later had my first ablation
Since had a second -and will have a third ablation - that story is in another post
Last year I was scheduled to have a 2stage cervical discectomy (neck disc replacement). They knew all about my occasional AF. I was prepared for the operation and at the operating theatre door when there was a shout of "stop." Apparently I was in AF with a heart rate of 135.
And that was it! I was gutted. No operation.
I had to stay in hospital for another week whilst they liaised with my EP. He thought they should have just gone ahead and cardioverted me if necessary.
My brother suggested that I should be given a sedative pre- op and this was agreed. In the event the sedative rendered me unconscious so I don't remember anything. Apparently my pulse rate and blood pressure dropped so low once I was back on the ward that they were extremely worried. I woke up to find that they'd fitted a bladder catheter.
In my case, anytime I’ve had surgery, since I’ve had afib, I’ve had to go to the ER within a few days with a “rough bout” of Afib. It defends on the person and I happen to be very sensitive to getting a bout of it. I will go into afib after 1 cup of caffeinated coffee. That’s just me.
I had spinal surgery (6hrs), was told by cardiologist at preop check that I was likely to go into AF during/after op but not to worry. I did but was given digoxin and it stopped. I had a violent attack of ectopics a few days later but it only lasted half an hour.
Hi Kather. It’s always up to the anaesthetist on the day. Having said that their cut off line appears to be the magic 110 beats per minute. Over that and they won’t do the op. They will probably ask you to take your heart meds as normal. I have recently had an ablation and a, off my anti arrhythmias. However I had a mastectomy 2weeks ago and there was no way I was having that cancelled cos of my heart rate. I seem to get a sinus tachy when I’m stressed so I had a Bisoprolol before going to my operation. Wouldn’t recommend it as I self medicated but I was desperate!! I also do a one minute meditation, it gets you out of the zone.
I've had 2 ops since AF. The first they kept me overnight when most people went home and apart from shivering a lot during the night all well. The second a lumpectomy, I was eating tea and butties the minute I got back to the ward and home the same day
I did get hold of a preparing for surgery relaxation tape by Mark Tyrell whe r e you imagine being calm and successful outcomes, worked a treat.
I recently had an implant fitted in my vocal cord under local anaesthetic which took about an hour, obviously didn’t feel any pain but very stressful in the knowledge I knew exactly what was going on. I was monitored all the time and was absolutely fine. The medics are well equipped to deal with every eventuality. Good luck with your operation.
A year ago I had a grumbling pain below my right ribs. Being a Saturday I rang the out of hours service and saw a doctor a few miles away from where l live. He considered I had appendicitis and phoned local hospital to arrange an emergency operation.
I drove home and took a taxi to the hospital where I went straight to the ward. My INR was checked and I was at 2.6
I was given vitamin K and another drug into my arm until they considered I was recoagulated enough to have the operation.
I have permanent asymptomatic AF.
At 2.30 on Sunday morning I was wheeled into the operating theatre where the senior anaesthetist assured me that they could deal with every eventuality. He said that they needed to transfer me to the operating table before anaesthetising me. They told me that the operation would take about an hour but they would keep me anaesthetised longer if necessary, which it was. I was woken up after 4 hours having a heart rate of about 150 bpm. It took 2 days for my heart rate to drop to an acceptable 90bpm, and nine hours later I was discharged.
Your operation is pre-planned unlike mine so don't worry about it
So long as your surgeon is aware of your A/F,he could well send you to have a pre-op. E.C.G. and a Echo-cardiogram. Providing these do not show an adverse condition there is no reason why your procedure should not go along. Good luck. Jeffrey.
Thank you everyone for your replies they have helped, I am having a preop physical and will see my EP a few weeks before to get signed off. Looking forward to having this behind me but also nervous
I had knee surgery in 2015 during a period where I was 14 months free of AF (and had been discharged by EP) so wasn't on any medications or anticoagulants.... did it under local because there was no need for a GA. Didn't affect my AF, though a few months later I developed atrial flutter and had 2 ablations, only for fast AF to return a few months after the flutter ablations.
Hi everyone had my surgery on Monday and all went well. My EP had me do a stress-echo test as I had not had one done before and it was fine. The anesthesiologist was not worried about my afib/flutter and said they can handle anything that happens. I went into surgery more relaxed this time because of the medical staff reassuring me they can handle anything that comes up and they see A-fib all the time. The hardest part now is pain management and getting your bowels back to normal from anesthesia. Abdominal surgery even with lapro is very tender after, but is getting better .
Thank you everyone for your stories it helped a lot.
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AF,SVT and knee replacement 
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Do We Really "Have" Afib?
